The last time a Lions coach took the wind, it didn't work out so well. But Jim Schwartz steadfastly stuck with it this week after many of quarterback Matthew Stafford's passes sailed around Soldier Field on Sunday.

Schwartz insisted after the 37-13 loss to Chicago, and again Monday, that the reason for Stafford's four interceptions and 52% completion rate was the howling weather in the stadium, rather than the fractured index finger on his throwing hand.

"Is he 100%? No," Schwartz said Monday. "What affected him was the wind in this game."

But two experts think Schwartz's wind argument is full of hot air.

"The weather is something that, if this guy's got a strong enough arm, it shouldn't be a huge factor," said CBS Sports analyst Rich Gannon, a former NFL MVP quarterback. "I mean, this guy can drive the ball and cut through wind.

"I think the finger is bothering him. When you start seeing guys wearing gloves and those kinds of things, it's something not normal for him. And you can tell it's bothering him a little bit."

Stafford wore a splint on his finger Sunday, taped it, then wore a glove to help him grip the ball better. Schwartz said Stafford threw well in practice last week and that the finger was not an issue.

Gannon said he played with numerous injuries to his throwing hand and said Stafford's broken finger "was certainly a factor."

"Anything with the throwing hand is significant," he said. "It affects your confidence. It affects your decision making. Do I make that throw? Do I drive that one in there? I don't make that throw because I don't feel I can put heat on the ball. I can't get it up and down quick enough.

"It's painful. You grip it a little bit different, then, all of a sudden, if it continues to be an issue ... you can develop some other issues, (such as) tendinitis in your elbow."

Former Bears quarterback Jim Miller played in Chicago Stadium in 1999-2002, before it was renovated, and said the wind could be a factor. Miller, who played at Michigan State, said the first interception Stafford threw, a ball intended for Tony Scheffler that Major Wright picked off at the start of the third quarter, looked like it was influenced by the wind.

"Maybe, possibly the one to Scheffler," said Miller, an analyst with Sirius XM NFL Radio and CSN Chicago. "I would think that because it did tail in a little bit toward Major Wright. Like anything else, you've got to adjust to it in how you've got to throw it. I'm sure Matthew has thrown in other windy stadiums before, where you deal with it.

"You just wonder how hurt is he? I know he's got the fractured finger. Can he really follow through with the ball the way he needs to because his index finger is the last finger when you're pronating your wrist and following through?"

Schwartz dismissed any notion Tuesday about benching Stafford for Sunday's game against Carolina at Ford Field.

"Matt Stafford's our starting quarterback," Schwartz said during his weekly radio appearance on WXYT-FM (97.1). "We're very pleased with what he's done."

Stafford has missed 19 games in his first two seasons because of injuries. Miller said it's important for quarterbacks to fight through injuries because of the continuity they provide the offense. But Miller still contemplated the idea the Lions are downplaying Stafford's injury to avoid concern.

"That could possibly be," Miller said. "They are worried that if it gets out that he's injury-prone, sometimes those labels are hard to shake.

"And I think it's important for them he lines up 16 games for the Detroit Lions, because that's their best opportunity to win. At times, he has played fantastic this year, and he just seems to be going through a little bit of a lull."

Defensive ends Willie Young and Lawrence Jackson missed yet another practice after sitting out Wednesday's and Thursday's, as well. Young is nursing an ankle injury he suffered in last Sunday's game against Chicago, while Jackson has a thigh injury.

The team's injury report, which gives the updated game status for each player listed, is released around 4 p.m. today.

If neither Young nor Jackson can play on Sunday – and normally those who haven't practiced all week do not – the Lions will be down to eight defensive linemen, including recently-signed end Ugo Chinasa, who is on the practice squad.

Also sidelined for the Lions are running back Jahvid Best (concussion) and punter Ryan Donahue (right quad).

I suppose that Fluellen, Suh, and Fairley could all move outside if needed though.

_________________

November 18th, 2011, 2:57 pm

conversion02

RIP Killer

Joined: January 26th, 2005, 9:34 pmPosts: 10946Location: Sycamore, IL

Re: 2011 Injury Thread

I'd love to see Suh move around a bit more. I'd love to see Gunther mix it up a bit more and move Suh outside a few times a game. Run a lineup of KVB, C-Will, Fairley, Suh, and for kicks, have Avril at SLB and blitzing.

______________________Draft defense - CB, LB, DT, LB...WR/KR

November 18th, 2011, 7:02 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: 2011 Injury Thread

slybri19 wrote:

I suppose that Fluellen, Suh, and Fairley could all move outside if needed though.

The reason the Lions still have Fluellen is because Schwartz claimed he was versatile enough to play both tackle and end. Of course, Fairley getting injured helped keep him on the roster as well.

Suh can be moved around. I don't know if Fairley knows enough of the defense to move outside, but I think physically he's got the skills for it. I think, in a pinch, the Lions could even have Carpenter put his hand in the dirt on passing downs and rush the passer.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

Detroit's defensive line is its biggest question mark, health-wise, heading into Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game against Green Bay.

Starting defensive tackle Corey Williams (calf) and backup defensive end Willie Young (ankle) are questionable for the Packers game, while defensive end Lawrence Jackson (thigh) is doubtful. Young and Jackson were both inactive for last Sunday's game against Carolina.

With every passing week of inactivity, the chances diminished for Jahvid Best returning to the field this season for the Detroit Lions. The news became official Friday when the Lions announced they would place Best on injured reserve, probably because they needed his roster spot, but also in acknowledgement that concussion symptoms lingering for nearly six weeks require serious and deliberate attention.

In a statement, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the team is looking forward to Best's "eventual return to the field." But I think it's fair to shift our thinking on Best's future. Given his concussion history, which included a scary season-ending fall during his final year at Cal in 2009, Best can no longer be considered a fundamental building block of this team.

It sounds cold, but from a team-building perspective, the Lions must proceed without any expectation that Best will return. They'll need to plan for someone else to start at running back in 2012, and should consider it a bonus if Best one day resumes that role.

The Lions have worked hard to assemble a deep backfield in recent years, using a first-round draft choice to select Best in 2010 and then a second-rounder on Mikel Leshoure this year. Best's career is now in question, and Leshoure ruptured an Achilles tendon in training camp and was lost for the season.

Leshoure is no sure bet himself after such a serious injury, but recent emphasis on concussion recovery makes his situation a little more defined than Best's. This isn't an issue the Lions need to worry about at the moment, but it will be an important part of their offseason.

I'm not surprised at all by this. It's really a shame but I have to agree with this article; The Lions just need to assume Best is done for good at this juncture.

_________________

November 26th, 2011, 9:37 am

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Jahvid Best's future in football...

LionFan57 wrote:

ESPN.com wrote:

Nov 25 3:48 PM ETBy Kevin Seifert

Questioning Jahvid Best's future in football

With every passing week of inactivity, the chances diminished for Jahvid Best returning to the field this season for the Detroit Lions. The news became official Friday when the Lions announced they would place Best on injured reserve, probably because they needed his roster spot, but also in acknowledgement that concussion symptoms lingering for nearly six weeks require serious and deliberate attention.

In a statement, Lions coach Jim Schwartz said the team is looking forward to Best's "eventual return to the field." But I think it's fair to shift our thinking on Best's future. Given his concussion history, which included a scary season-ending fall during his final year at Cal in 2009, Best can no longer be considered a fundamental building block of this team.

It sounds cold, but from a team-building perspective, the Lions must proceed without any expectation that Best will return. They'll need to plan for someone else to start at running back in 2012, and should consider it a bonus if Best one day resumes that role.

The Lions have worked hard to assemble a deep backfield in recent years, using a first-round draft choice to select Best in 2010 and then a second-rounder on Mikel Leshoure this year. Best's career is now in question, and Leshoure ruptured an Achilles tendon in training camp and was lost for the season.

Leshoure is no sure bet himself after such a serious injury, but recent emphasis on concussion recovery makes his situation a little more defined than Best's. This isn't an issue the Lions need to worry about at the moment, but it will be an important part of their offseason.

I'm not surprised at all by this. It's really a shame but I have to agree with this article; The Lions just need to assume Best is done for good at this juncture.

I think that's exactly what the team needs to do. Best needs to hang 'em up, and the team needs to try and force that issue with him. Both parties need to think about the future. Best was a mistake. While it's true that none of us could have predicted that Best would be this prone to concussions, some of us were leery about the pick because of his other injuries suffered at Cal. It's unfortunate, because there is obviously talent there and the Lions can use it on their roster, but the Lions can also use the cap space his retirement will provide.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.

November 26th, 2011, 11:10 am

njroar

Team MVP

Joined: September 25th, 2007, 3:20 amPosts: 3262

Re: 2011 Injury Thread

Donahue went on IR today and they signed Ricardo Silva off the practice squad.

To fill Donahue's roster spot, rookie safety Ricardo Silva was signed off the practice squad. That move was made because starting free safety Louis Delmas is expected to miss the next two games with a knee injury.

"Silva is a guy who in preseason we were able to put him in games and he was able to make plays," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He was green, meaning he needed a lot of experience coming from a smaller school (Hampton), but he has good physical ability and he's been preparing the whole season."

Lions fans haven’t seen meaningful football games in December in awhile.

But here the Lions are, at the stretch run of the regular season, having put themselves in a position to make the playoffs at 7-4.

“I think we understand it’s go time,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said in a conference call with the New Orleans media Wednesday. “It’s time for us to put the pedal to the metal and start playing our best football at this time of the year. “

That always seems to be the case for perennial playoff teams like the Patriots and Steelers and some of the other upper-echelon teams across the league. They always seem to find ways to win meaningful games late in the season.

“That’s what great teams do,” Stafford said. “If you want to make the playoffs, you have to do it on Sundays. You have to prove it and I think that’s where our mentality is right now.”

Saints quarterback Drew Brees knows a little bit about meaningful games late in the season. He guided the Saints to a Super Bowl title in 2009.

“Well that is when you want to be playing your best football in November and December,” he said in a conference call Wednesday. “I think that is when some of the teams start to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. We were able to win the Super Bowl in the 2009 season, so we know what that feeling is like. We know the journey and the amount of work that it takes to go into that. We understand that the teams that are performing their best in November, December are usually the ones making pretty significant playoff runs.”

Sunday’s game in New Orleans kicks off a tough stretch run for the Lions. In fact, The Lions have the second-toughest remaining schedule in the NFL with three division leaders (Saints, Raiders and Packers) in their last five games. Their remaining five opponents have a combined record of 32-23.

“I think we’re all going to rally around each other and give it a shot,” Stafford said after practice Wednesday. “We definitely have the talent and the players and the coaching staff and the system to do it. It’s on us as players to go out there and perform. “

Saints coach Sean Payton said during his conference call that he saw a lot of similarities between the Saints and this current Lions team, and likes the fact that so much is on the line for both teams so late in the season.

“Coach Schwartz has done a great job, and Martin Mayhew and then the players they’ve selected—and piece by piece, they’ve put together a program now that each week competes to win football games and has that confidence,” he said.

“And what’s exciting about it is, you get to this stage of the season and these games are important. You know, having done this long enough, the worst part of our industry is getting to this month of December and being on teams where the game’s aren’t going to matter in regards to playoff ramifications. I think they’ve done a great job of getting to that spot and they’ve done it the hard way. “

But Lions coach Jim Schwartz will be the first one to say they haven't done anything, yet.

“This is a position we would have killed to be in last year and right now it’s our time to do something with it.”

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

December 7th, 2011, 12:51 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Personally, I'd put Fairley on IR and save him for next season before it becomes a chronic issue. We still have a three man rotation at DT we can use for the Vikes game.

All the others....I'm not too concerned. Get 'em healthy and back for the Oakland game.

Jim Schwartz was on Sirius/XM NFL Radio on Thursday. He said ( Paraphrased)that all it is with Fairley is normal pains from having a pin inserted. Xrays were negative. There is no chance this injury becomes chronic. It is simply a situation that will affect him this year and be gone. By next year, it will be a distant memory.

December 9th, 2011, 11:44 pm

sweetd20

Pro Bowl Player

Joined: October 13th, 2005, 9:03 amPosts: 2490

Re: 2011 Injury Thread

I'll be shocked if Fairley's foot is ever 100%. His foot is the reason I was against the drafting of him from the start. Foot injuries and 300 lb players aren't a good combination.